The subject matter disclosed herein relates to an insert apparatus for installing a transducer assembly in a sensor port of a flow cell.
Flow meters, including ultrasonic flow meters, are used to determine the characteristics (e.g., flow rate, pressure, temperature, etc.) of liquids, gases, etc. flowing in conduits of different sizes and shapes. Knowledge of these characteristics of the fluid can enable other physical properties or qualities of the fluid to be determined. For example, in some custody-transfer applications, the flow rate can be used to determine the volume of a fluid (e.g., oil or gas) being transferred from a seller to a buyer through a conduit to determine the costs for the transaction, where the volume is equal to the flow rate multiplied by the cross sectional area of the conduit.
In one type of ultrasonic flow meter employing transit time flow metering, one or more pairs of ultrasonic transducer assemblies can be installed in sensor ports of a flow cell. Each pair of ultrasonic transducer assemblies can contain transducer assemblies located upstream and downstream from each other forming an ultrasonic path between them at particular chordal locations across the conduit. Each transducer assembly, when energized, transmits an ultrasonic signal (e.g., a sound wave) along an ultrasonic path through the flowing fluid that is received by and detected by the other transducer assembly. The path velocity of the fluid averaged along the ultrasonic path at a particular chordal location can be determined as a function of the differential between (1) the transit time of an ultrasonic signal traveling along the ultrasonic path from the downstream transducer upstream to the upstream transducer against the fluid flow direction, and (2) the transit time of an ultrasonic signal traveling along the ultrasonic path from the upstream transducer downstream to the downstream transducer with the fluid flow direction.
Transducer assemblies can be installed in sensor ports of flow cells using insert assemblies that are mounted within the sensor ports. Since the transducer assemblies are bonded to the cavity of the insert body using glue or another adhesive, when the transducer assembly fails or must be replaced, the transducer assembly cannot easily be removed from and replaced within the insert assembly. For example, after removal of the transducer assembly, the remaining glue or adhesive will negatively impact the performance of any replacement transducer assembly installed within the insert assembly. Accordingly, the entire or a substantial part of the insert assembly often must be removed in order to replace a transducer assembly. The removal of the insert assembly may require a shutdown of the system that the flow cells are monitoring to remove the fluid and pressure from the flow cell.
The discussion above is merely provided for a general background information and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.